Therefore I will make Samaria as a heap of the field, And I will pour down the stones thereof into the valley, And all the graven images thereof shall be beaten to 7 pieces, And all the hires thereof shall be burnt with the fire, with 'apostasy' in the parallel line. But have we a right to make this assumption, for which there is no analogy in Hebrew? Our present text rests on such imperfect authority, that it is more reasonable to suppose here a corruption in the reading, and to follow the three most ancient versions (the Septuagint, the Peshito, and the Targum), which presuppose the reading What is the sin of Judah?' This is also more in harmony with what we know of the prophets of this period, who do not elsewhere so emphatically denounce the 'high places,' or shrines scattered up and down the country (comp. on v. 14). They were more concerned with principles than with the detailed application of them. Some abominations were too obvious to be passed over; other evils, less distinctly seen as evils, were tolerated, or only gently protested against. Perhaps 'high places' in this passage was originally a marginal note in an early manuscript, intended to explain in what the sin of Judah consisted. 6. as a heap] Rather, into a heap (i.e. into ruins). as plantings of a vineyard] Rather, into the plantings, &c. Samaria should remain so long in ruins, that vineyards should be laid out upon it (comp. Isai. xxviii. 1 'the fat valley of those who are smitten down with wine'). I will pour down the stones] Samaria standing on a hill (see 1 Kings xvi. 24). "There is every appearance of the ancient buildings having been destroyed, and their materials cast down from the brow of the hill, in order to clear the ground for cultivation; masses of stone are thus seen hanging on the steep sides of the hill, accidentally stopped in the progress of their descent by the rude dykes and terraces separating the fields." The materials of the ruins...are piled up in large heaps, or used in the construction of rude stone fences; many of these heaps of stone are seen in the plains at the foot of the hill." Journal of a Deputation sent to the East by the Malta Prot. College, Vol. II. p. 425. discover] i.e. lay bare. 7. the hires] i.e. the rich votive offerings in the sanctuaries, shortly afterwards called 'the hire of a harlot,' with reference to the shameful practices of heathenish religion (Deut. xxiii. 17, 18). shall return] i.e. shall again become (as Gen. iii. 19 'unto dust shalt thou return'). The material of the costly images acquired through the 8 9 8-16. Micah's Lamentation. Therefore I will wail and howl, I will go stript and naked: I will make a wailing like the dragons, And mourning as the owls. For her wound is incurable; For it is come unto Judah; He is come unto the gate of my people, even to Jerusalem. offerings of devotees shall again be used for votive offerings in other no less shameful religions, based, like those of heathen Syria, on the worship of the powers and processes of nature. 8-16. MICAH'S LAMENTATION. 8. Therefore I will wail] Such exuberance of emotion specially characterizes the Jews and the Arabs; it reminds us of the Homeric heroes. The prophets did not cease to be men when they received the gift of inspiration. Sometimes they seem to have had a kind of double consciousness, uniting them on the one hand with the inspiring Spirit, and on the other with their much-loved people. Hence their abrupt transitions from stern denunciation to tender compassion. stript and naked] i.e. without an outer garment; comp. I Sam. xix. 24, Amos ii. 16, John xxi. 7. It seems to be a single symbolic act which is referred to (comp. Isai. xx. 2). The word 'stripped' indicates that the appearance of the prophet is significant of the enforced naked-, ness of his people on their way to captivity (Isai. xx. 3, 4). dragons...owls] Rather, jackals...ostriches (comp. Job xxx. 29). The Hebrew poets are fond of likening the note of lamentation to those of animals. În Isaiah the swift, the crane, the dove, and the bear are referred to (Isai. xxxviii. 14, lix. 11); while here it is the 'long, piteous cry' of the jackal, and the 'fearful screech' of the ostrich which furnish the object of comparison. 9. her wound] Lit. her stripes. Samaria's trouble is a chastisement (comp. Isai. i. 3, 4), but it is not Samaria's trouble only. It has reached Jerusalem; hence the 'incurableness' of the 'wound,' for Jerusalem is the heart of the nation. The past tenses vividly express the certainty of the prophet's intuition of the future. he is come] Or, it is come. The subject may be either the 'stripe' or the dealer of the stripe-Jehovah. the gate of my people] Jerusalem is to the chosen people in general what the gate is to the city itself. The shady space in the city gate was the favourite place of meeting; so Jerusalem is the scene of 'our solemn meetings' (Isai. xxxiii. 20), our religious and political centre. 10. Declare ye it not...] May we at least be spared the sight of the malicious joy of our envious neighbours!' Here begins a series of paronomasias, which however are far from indicating a playful mood in the prophet. Most of them refer to Judæan towns in the prophet's own Declare ye it not at Gath, weep ye not at all: ΙΟ Pass ye away, thou inhabitant of Saphir, having thy shame 11 naked: The inhabitant of Zaanan came not forth in the mourning of Beth-ezel; He shall receive of you his standing. neighbourhood. He could not possibly jest about the fate of his friends! No; he is in sober earnest, and sees (like Isaiah in Isai. x. 30) a pre-ordained correspondence between names and fortunes (comp. the familiar phrase 'his name shall be called'='he shall be'). It is not always easy to catch his allusions, nor to reproduce them when caught. Some idea of the general effect is given by M. Reuss in the following imitation, 'N'allez pas le dire à Dijon! N'allez pas pleurer à Ploermel! Pars, Paris! Chartres, attèle ton char!' at Gath] Alluding to 2 Sam. i. 20. The substance of the power of Gath had passed away (Amos vi. 2). Like Ashdod (see Amos i. 8), it seems not to have recovered from the severe blow inflicted by Uzziah (2 Chron. xxvi. 6). But its name was still a symbol of bitter hostility. weep ye not at all] Or, in Acco weep ye not (another reading). Áccording to Judg. i. 31, the Canaanites were not driven out of Acco. Thus Acco (the later Ptolemais) would be the representative of the Canaanites or Phoenicians of the north. The choice of the town would be dictated (as the Hebrew suggests) by the love of paronomasia. The Sept. has οἱ Ενακείμ; but we should probably read οἱ ἐν ̓Ακή (μ came from the following un; and n and & are often confounded). in the house of Aphrah] Rather, in Beth-le-aphrah (i.e. House of dust). There was a town of the tribe of Benjamin called Ophrah, Josh. xviii. 23. Most, if not all, however, of the other eight towns appear to lie in the Shephélah, i.e. the 'low country' between Joppa and Gaza; probably therefore the Benjamite Ophrah is not here intended. It may be asked, Why does the prophet single out the Shephélah? Isaiah, in a strictly parallel passage (x. 28-32), mentions an altogether different region as suffering from the invasion? The answer is, that the prophet has the feelings (if we may say so) of a provincial. The 'low country' was even less able than Aiath, Migron, Michmash, &c., to oppose the rapid movements of the Assyrians. So Tamar, as a roll thyself in] Rather, besprinkle thyself with. sign of mourning, 'put ashes upon her head,' 2 Sam. xiii. 19. But the reading of the Hebrew text is preferable to that of the margin and of A. V., viz. 'I have besprinkled myself with.' 11. inhabitant] The word in the Hebrew is feminine, the population of the city being (as often, e.g. Isai. i. 8) personified as a virgin. Saphir] as if Fair-town (a play on the name). Zaanan] The Zenan of Josh. xv. 37. came not forth, &c.] Rather, is not come forth; the mourning of Beth-ezel taketh from you its standing-ground. Zaanan would 12 13 14 For the inhabitant of Maroth waited carefully for good: O thou inhabitant of Lachish, bind the chariot to the She is the beginning of the sin to the daughter of Zion : willingly take to flight, but the sound of the mourning at Beth-ezel (which might mean the house, or place, at one's side') fills them_with despair. An 'Azal,' or rather Azel, is mentioned in Jerusalem in Zech. xiv. 5 (see however on 'Aphrah.' v. 10). 12. Maroth] The name might mean Bitternesses, i. e. 'perfect grief.' Comp. Ruth i. 20, Call me Mara, for the LORD hath made it bitter unto me,' i.e. hath grieved me. waited carefully] Rather, hath been in pain. for good] i.e. for the good of liberty which it has lost. but evil came down] Rather, for evil is come down. unto the gate of Jerusalem] It is the 'great gate' spoken of thus by Sennacherib in his boastful inscription, the exit of the great gate of his city I caused (them) to break through' (Taylor's cylinder, col. iii. lines 22, 23). Sargon, however, is probably the Assyrian king referred to by the prophet, as also by Isaiah in a parallel passage (xxii. 7), "the horsemen [of the enemy] set themselves in array towards the -gate" (this is the correct rendering). 13. Lachish] That well-known fortified town in the Shephélah, or maritime plain, the capture of which was commemorated by Sennacherib in two bas-reliefs in his palace; comp. Isai. xxxvi. 2, xxxvii. 8. These small Syrian and Palestinian fortresses had to sustain repeated sieges. Lachish' and rechesh ('swift beast') make what is called an assonance; hence the mention of Lachish suggests the thought of harnessing the chariot for flight. The imperative is of course to be understood poetically. It would be well for Lachish if her 'swift steeds' could carry her far away-those 'swift steeds' which were so violently obnoxious to Micah and his fellow-prophets (Isai. ii. 7, xxxi. 1). she is the beginning of the sin] Rather, she was the beginning of sin, i.e. the image-worship of the northern kingdom took root first of all in Lachish, and from thence spread over the rest of Judah (comp. vi. 16). It is remarkable that the infection of idolatry should have appeared at a bound so far from its original focus. No light can be thrown upon this. 14. Therefore] There is no logical sequence implied: 'therefore' often introduces a threatening passage-sin leading to punishment. The prophet abruptly turns to the people of Judah. shalt thou give presents, &c.] More strictly, farewell-presents. The meaning of the whole clause is that Judah will have to give up Moresheth-gath. True, it was to an enemy that this town was to be The houses of Achzib shall be a lie to the kings of Israel. Yet will I bring an heir unto thee, O inhabitant of 15 Mareshah: He shall come unto Adullam the glory of Israel. Make thee bald, and poll thee for thy delicate children; 16 Enlarge thy baldness as the eagle; For they are gone into captivity from thee. surrendered, and 'farewell presents' seems to have been a technical term for the marriage-portion of a bride (so 1 Kings ix. 16). But a loose use of the phrase is quite intelligible; the literal meaning is simply dismissal." Moresheth-gath] The birth-place of the prophet (see Introduction), who here makes an allusion to its meaning—‘possession of Gath.' Achzib] Mentioned as in the Shephélah, Josh. xv. 44. Its name suggests the thought of deception or disappointment; hence the following words. It is probably the same as Chezib, and, remarkably enough, the passage where Chezib is mentioned contains a similar reference to the ominous purport of the name. 'He (Judah) was at Chezib,' we read in Gen. xxxviii. 5, when she (Tamar) bare him.' It was an appropriate birthplace for Shelah, who afterwards disappointed the just expectations of Tamar in regard to Judah. a lie] Rather, a disappointing brook. The word for 'brook' is omitted as in Jer. xv. 18, where the parallel clause explains the phrase to mean waters that fail.' the kings of Israel] 'Israel,' after the fall of the northern kingdom (predicted in vv. 6, 7) is legitimately applied to Judah. 15. Yet will I bring, &c.] Rather, Moreover unto thee will I bring him that shall possess thee (viz. Sargon and his Assyrians). 'Mareshah' was near Achzib (Josh. xv. 44). There is an allusion to its possible meaning of 'possession.' he shall come unto Adullam, &c.] Rather, the glory of Israel shall come even unto Adullam. The nobility of Israel are to take refuge in the cave which once harboured David and his band (1 Sam. xxii. 1, 2). These limestone caverns are of great extent; some of them, says Dr Pusey, will hold thousands of men. A second meaning may be implied by a paronomasia, 'The glory of Israel shall set for ever' (as if Adullam meant for ever,' Hebr. ad olam). Adullam was a fortified town in the Shephélah, Josh. xv. 35. 16. Make thee bald] The prophet addresses the sorrowing mother, Judah, who sees her children go forth into exile. The injunction is to be understood poetically (see on v. 13). Artificial baldness, as a sign of mourning, was against the Law (Lev. xix. 27, 28, Deut. xiv. 1), but this prohibition was apparently not recognized in the Shephélah. Micah speaks in the character of a man of the Shephélah. 6 as the eagle] The word for eagle' (nesher) seems, in common discourse, to have included the vulture (so also derós, Matt. xxiv. 28), which is common in Egypt and Palestine. |